Maine reports 630 new cases of COVID-19, 3 deaths Friday

Oct. 29—Maine health officials reported 630 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and three more deaths, continuing what has been a discouraging fall trend as the delta variant surge refuses to break.

The seven-day daily case average has fluctuated somewhat but has remained stubbornly high — at or above 450 cases — for all but a few days over the last month. Across the country, meanwhile, cases have been steadily declining, from an average of 113,003 a month ago to 68,792 cases now, or 39 percent. Some of that is attributable to testing volume, which has dropped off dramatically in many states, especially in the south.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 103,671 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 and 1,163 peopled have died with the virus, according to data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Both remain among the lowest per capita of any state.

Hospitalizations dropped below 200 on Friday for the first time in a week. Of the 198 people in the hospital with COVID-19, 78 are in critical care and 38 on ventilators. The number of ventilators is the highest total since Sept. 22.

Hospitalizations in Maine remain at a sustained high level even as they have come down nationally. According to the U.S. CDC, the average number of people in the hospital is about 45,500, which is down 11 percent over the previous week and down 50 percent since early September during the height of the delta variant surge.

Health care systems in Maine have been forced to delay certain surgical procedures due to bed shortages, and some hospitals are holding patients who are medically cleared but don't have a long-term care facility to move into because of staffing shortages.

As for vaccinations, the pace has picked up in recent weeks. On Tuesday this week, nearly 8,000 doses were administered across the state, the highest daily total since May. Maine already is in the top five among states with the highest vaccination rates. All of them are in New England.

Overall, Maine has given 927,483 final doses of vaccine, which accounts for 69 percent of all residents and 78.3 percent of those 12 and older who are currently eligible. As early as next week, children ages 5 to 11 could be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. There are roughly 80,000 children in that age range.

In addition to final doses, Maine has administered 83,478 booster doses, which are now recommended for anyone 65 and older, individuals who are immunocompromised, and anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Friday also is the deadline for health care workers to get vaccinated under a statewide mandate. Those who have not provided proof of vaccination face termination and state officials will begin monitoring compliance through random audits and complaint-based investigations.

This story will be updated